| 14 September 2009
MEMPHIS ANGLER WINS KEY WEST MERCURY S.L.A.M. WITH FOUR FLATS SLAMS
KEY WEST, Florida Keys -- Mo Smith of Memphis, Tenn., scored four flats grand slams -- catching a permit, tarpon and bonefish for each slam -- as well as catching five additional bonefish, to earn the title of grand champion angler at the 2009 Mercury Southernmost Light-Tackle Anglers Masters tournament that ended Sept. 13.
Smith released eight bonefish on the first day of fishing, zeroing in on tarpon and permit on the second day and also releasing his ninth bonefish.
Ending the tournament with 2,600 points, Smith was guided by Mark Krowka of Islamorada, Fla. He credited his win to Krowka's skill.
"My guide is the best," was all Smith would say following his win. Krowka also guided Smith when he took runner-up grand champion honors at the 2008 tournament.
The team grand championship went to brothers David Collier of New York City and Cal Collier Jr. of Atlanta. The duo caught four bonefish, four permit and three tarpon fishing with Captain Justin Rea of Sugarloaf Key, Fla.
The 2009 runner-up grand champion was Mitch Howell of Plantation, Fla., who scored a flats grand slam on the tournament's first fishing day and released eight bonefish on the second.
Howell and teammate Larry Vaught of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., guided by Captain Tim Carlile of Sugarloaf Key, took runner-up team honors.
The tournament's celebrity grand champion was Mark Cooper of Aurora, Colo., formerly a National Football League player with the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The S.L.A.M. attracted 46 anglers on 23 boats, who released 63 bonefish, 22 permit and 47 tarpon. The tournament is part of an annual Florida Keys trilogy of Redbone challenges that raise money for cystic fibrosis treatment and research.
